5 fights, a Flyers win and a (nearly) lost voice

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

The Flyers and Ottawa Senators didn’t do him much good on Thursday night.

Because of a nasty cold, Nolan, the Flyers’ long-time public-address announcer, nearly lost his voice as he struggled with announcements in the first two periods.

By the end of the third period, when five fights and five misconducts caused Nolan to deliver an unending list of penalties, the veteran announcer could barely speak. But he battled through it, and press-box observers kidded that he could have been named one of the game’s three stars.

It was old-time hockey at the Wells Fargo Center, where the Flyers defeated Ottawa, 6-2, in a game that conjured memories of the Broad Street Bullies.

There were five fights in the third period, and 126 penalty minutes in the game. That’s the most PIM in a Flyers game since a 2007 contest against Pittsburgh, when there were 156 penalty minutes in Philadelphia’s 8-2 win.

Coincidentally, that was also the last time Jeff Carter was in a fight _ until Thursday.

With the sellout crowd roaring, Carter bested Jesse Winchester in Thursday’s final period.

“I wasn’t doing much else out there, so I figured I’d do something,” Carter said. “You’ve got to get in there and do something.”

At one point in the third period, there were three fights going on simultaneously. The fans began chanting “Goalie Fight” in an attempt to get the two netminders to square off.

“I did not hear it,” said winning Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, adding he has never been in a fight.

Someone asked Bobrovsky if he was prepared to join the fisticuffs.

“If I had to and had someone to fight with, I would have no choice but to join,” he said through a Russian interpreter.

The penalties didn’t come close to the Flyers-Senators fight-filled game in 2004, when the teams combined for an NHL record 419 PIM.

Oh, yeah: The game. Mike Richards had four points (two goals, two assists) and Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk and Andrej Meszaros scored goals for the Flyers.

Richards is making a strong bid to be added to the all-star team as a replacement for an injured player.

Defenseman Chris Pronger, playing in his first game since he broke his right foot on Dec. 15, had two assists, including one of Richards’ five-on-three power-play goal.

The Flyers were 2 for 4 on the PP; they had been 2 for 25 in their previous nine games.

Yes, the Flyers missed not having Pronger as their PP quarterback.

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The Flyers are 31-11-5 for an NHL-best 67 points. That’s their third-most points after 47 games in franchise history, according to Brian Smith, the team’s stats guru.

* * *

Claude Giroux had a 36-pound disadvantage in his fairly even bout with Nick Foligno.

Foligno praised his team.

“Guys are showing some heart and determination, and if you can’t beat them (on the scoreboard), beat them (physically).

He also praised Giroux.

“I just didn’t like the way he hit our guy, and I think he was a willing partner, too. He’s also a standup guy as well,” Foligno said. “…He was looking for a partner and found me, and it was a good fight.”

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